From Green Archer to Blue Eagle.
Well, not exactly.
CSB-LSGH champion guard Jacob Lao is headed to Ateneo, but not for the usual reasons one might pursue coming out of high school basketball. As most Juniors standouts vie for a roster spot from any big college, the incoming freshman will instead chase a dream that's for him bigger than hoops.
"I chose studies this time over basketball," Lao said.
The La Salle Greenhills shooting guard is coming off a memorable season for the Junior Blazers. He may have had modest averages of 4.7 points, one 3-pointer, and 2.8 rebounds per game, he was a vital cog in La Salle Greenhills' first NCAA Juniors title last season. In the pivotal Game 3 of the finals against the Mapua Red Robins, he busted out eight points and four rebounds.
After months of deliberation and returning from a training camp in Australia, Lao ultimately chose to cut short his young basketball career.
"I made the decision when I came back from Australia. But before I made it, I consulted with everyone," he explained, seeking counsel from his coaches, friends, and family. "They said, if it feels right, then go."
"When we won the championship in the Juniors, I thought that whatever happens in the Seniors level, I have to study first," he added.
In Ateneo, Lao will take up a BS Management course and major in Communications Technology. Eventually, he hopes to be at the forefront of the business run by his family, which owns the Choi Garden line of restaurants in the country. As early as now, the 18-year-old is already exploring business opportunities, including bringing back the cream puff store Beard Papa.
But Lao isn't fully closing the door to basketball.
He is currently an assistant coach for the Junior Blazers under head tactician Marvin Bienvenida in their quest to claiming back-to-back NCAA Juniors title. He is tasked to help out top high school standout Joel Cagulangan, RC Calimag, Inand Fornillos, and the rest of the Junior Blazers, but more importantly the rookies of the squad.
"Actually it's not the championship, it was the brotherhood," he said on what brought him back to La Salle. "Until now, we talk about it. That's why I asked coach Marvin if I could be an assistant for them, because it was hard to leave the bond that we had in Greenhills."
More than his jump from La Salle to Ateneo, the bigger change Lao will have to undergo through will be focusing on his studies rather than pursuing basketball.
"For me, my thinking is that basketball is not forever," he shared. "I want to prioritize first my studies."
But four years in college is a long time and who knows, Lao might decide to pick up a basketball once again and the Blue Eagles might have a slot for a shooting guard along the way.
"If ever I decide to play again, basketball will always be there," he said.